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35 days since my last entry on Paris? Wow--midterms, essays and homework really have been taking over my life. One might ask why keep writing these things since it has been almost two months since I've been home, but this blog must be completed.
After Paris, I had a short two days in Roma to see my parents arrive, but I've decided to save that for my last entry--there was a lot of reflection that occured in those two days, and I think it's a good way to sum up my thoughts on my experiences studying abroad. I'm calling this entry a "Spanish Fiesta" because it was the last leg of Spring Break with friends, and it was an amazing time! I headed to Barcelona with my friend on the trip, Ellen!! It was full of its ups and downs, and made my friendship with Ellen even stronger. I just met her only two and a half months before, and realized what a great bond we had (I'll explain later).
So, to first start off my trip, we arrived at a youth hostel, just 10 min away by foot to the main strip of the city!! It seemed perfect.
The staff was nice, gave us a map of where to go, what to do and where to eat. Except...we booked a "mixed dorm" putting us in a room with four dudes!! We were also separated in the room--they took our bunks, spreading us apart, but we managed to survive through the snores and loudness of these guys, and made the best of our last part of Spring Break. We were pretty tired from our early flight, so that day we went to dinner to celebrate our friend Samantha's birthday at an amazing restaurant and met up with other friends from the Roma Program who happened to be there at the same time as us. It was a great closure to seeing everyone and really toasting to the amazing time in Europe we had. The bonds we made, the times we spent in different countires/cities, and the thought that it would be all over soon.
We started our first full day off as hardcore tourists, and visited all of the Gaudi buildings. He was an architect who always had a reason behind everything he built, usually based around nature, or the ocean, resulting in most of his buildings being
a blueish green color with a very surreal looking feel (wavy, mosaics). We went into two different buildings, both meant for the wealthy to live in, with each having a breathtaking view of the city from the roof. The first building had a little apartment complex inside and the furniture was so modern and eccentric. The best building though was the second-the signature building of Barcelona. The inside was like the first one; it was the roof that was stunning. There was a dragon mosaic on the top, and view of the city on a beauitful sunny day. Of course, I had to stop in Starbucks and buy the mug with this signature artwork on it. 😊 After the buildings, we took a short break for lunch and continued our trek of the Gaudi artwork and ventured over to the park he designed, Parck Guell. This time there a mosaic of a lizard, and all of the benches had colorful tile on them. We then went into the house of Gaudi with much of the same architecture. It was amazing to be standing inside the house of someone who seemed as if he almost designed Barcelona!
The next day
we had a fun day of...the aquarium! It was nice to relax and not have to run around Barcelona as we did the day before. We saw penguins, sharks, and fish of all sorts and relaxed with a nice lunch. Then...we saw a true Spanish show--Flamenco dancing!! We got together with some other girls from the program and had tapas (appetizers you share with everyone) and saw some amazing Spanish dancing from a woman and heard live music. It was neat to experience something truly unique to Spain.
On my last day in Barcelona, we toured the gothic district and of course...headed to the beach!! The gothic district had the church that has never been completed and is still being built today--La Sagrada Familia, which was designed by Gaudi. While Gaudi may not have finished it, it still looks absolutely stunning. You could see the construction being done on it, and it was amazing to think it was started in 1882, and still under construction! We also visited the main Gothic Cathedral, which had geese living inside it! Then it was off to the beaches of Barcelona. We picked an interesting day to go--a wind storm arrived while we
were soaking in the sun on the sand! We had never seen so much sand fly, as the waiters were attempting to put their furnitutre inside while it almost flew away. The sandy beaches were quite breathtaking though. Cheesey as it sounds, I did a lot of reflecting on the beach-thinking about what studying abroad has done for me. It has opened my eyes to the world and other cultures. While I learned about the history of other cultures in school, actually living in it and stepping outside my comfort zone has made me appeciate the world more, and all the diversity.
During my stay in Barcelona, I had some downers happen. My bank account was shut down for awhile again, and worst of all, I got a call from Mat (my brother for those of you who don't know) saying Rippley was sick. It was extremely scary to be on another continent while one of my family members (yes I consider him one!) was throwing up, and had to to go the vet. Talking to Mat on the phone, realizing Ripster might not make it was very heartbreaking, and the last thing I wanted to hear. Ellen really
helped me that day--two bad things at once, and she stood there by me and made me focus on having a good time; whatever happened was going to happen, and I needed to be strong about it. Here I was, crying on the phone to Mat, hoping my furry brother would survive, with the hand of my newest friend on my shoulder helping me. I decided to include this in my blog, because part of studying abroad made me realize the strength I had me, and how I got some of that strength from people I just met, yet made such great bonds with. Rippley turned out to be ok in the end, and is doing very well and healthy now! At the time, it was quite the scare, and Ellen really helped me. So, thank you!
After Barcelona, I met up with the parents, and had some comforts of home. With them, I madme another visit to a place where the gondolas row, and the Carnival masks come alive...More to come in the next blog! 😊
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